RESEARCH

Topic: Racial Discrimination

Story Idea: An immigrant family from Yemen moves to the U.S. The son experiences discrimination from his peers.

What struggles do immigrants from Arab countries face in the U.S.?

Arab immigrants face prejudice and stereotypes because September 11 and war in Iraq have made some Americans distrust in Arab immigrants.

Why did Arab immigrants come to America?

They came to America around 1880 to 1924 because they were struggling as farmers in Arab countries. After 1948 most Arab immigrants came to America after fleeing their home countries due to wars and violence.

How do Americans view Arab immigrants?

Some Americans view Arab immigrants as terrorists or have distrust in them. This is in part to the terrorist attacks on September 11 and current wars in Arab countries.

RESEARCH:

Went to Sirs and found "American Immigrants: Arab Americans" by Sharon Cromwell. January 1, 2008.

http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S44-4241-0-1830&artno=0000316416&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=arab%20immigrants&title=American%20Immigrants%3A%20Arab%20Americans&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N

SOCIAL AWARENESS POST

An article from the Los Angeles Times, "No work, No Reason to Go North" discusses how illegal immigration has decreased over the past few years due to the poor economy. The article explains how work in the U.S. is getting more and more difficult to find, forcing many immigrants to return to their home countries. The article states that there is no point going north because you will find yourself in a dead end shortly after you do. Jobs are becoming scarce both north and south of the border. Because of less jobs, illegal immigrants have stopped entering America as much as they had previously. Statistics show that illegal immigration from Mexico has dropped from over 7 million in 2008 to 6 and a half million immigrants in 2010. This is most likely due to a decrease in jobs, which leads to discouraging future immigrants from coming to America.

Another Los Angeles Times article, "An Education Gap for Illegal Migrants' Kids," analyzes how children of illegal immigrants in the U.S. fare compared to legal residents. The study found that children of illegal immigrants averaged 11 years of education, due to financial, anxiety and work issues, compared with approximately 13 years for those whose parents were legal residents. Addressing the education gap is important otherwise as the article states, "By not providing pathways to legalization, the United States not only risks creating an underclass, but also fails to develop a potentially valuable human resource." Studies have shown that once children of illegal immigrants become legalized, their level of motivation to succeed in school increases dramatically as they feel like they have a better chance to succeed in society.

2 Voice Poem

My parents drive me to school

I have to walk 6 and a half miles everyday

I have school supplies and more to spare

My pencil is as all I have

One day, I will go to college

My parents can't afford school next year

Our school has a library

We have to share our books

I am learning a second language

I have recently learned how to read

My school is a 5 story building

My school is a small house with one room

My whole family graduated college

I am the only one in my family that has gone to school

Reflection: 

The words in italics is the voice a student in the America who receives standard education. The other words represent a student in a developing country. This shows how education is very different in places around the world, and how some children have access to a good education, while others get poor or no education at all.

Social Awareness Post

From the book "Forged By Fire" by Sharon M. Draper, the issue of all types of abuse is a big challenge the main character, Gerald, has to face for most of the story.

Gerald, in the beginning of the book, even though he doesn't realize it, he experiences his own mother, Monique,  being torn apart by drugs. Consequentially, Gerald suffers physical abuse from his mother starting at a very young age; this toughens him up, scars him for the rest of his life. He has to deal with child abuse from when he is a toddler to up until he is a teenager from his mom and his stepdad. Even worse for Gerald, he has to witness his stepsister going through the very same thing.

Abuse, in the case of this story, drug addiction, child molestation and physical abuse are big problems in society that can tear apart families, friendships, relationships, and life itself.  Abuse can not only ruin an individual's life, it can be contagious and largely affects loved ones, work life and the community.

Drug abuse can begin when someone is depressed or angry with their current situation. Overwhelmed, people turn to drugs in hard times unable to deal with their circumstances. As a result of drug abuse, families can be wrecked, trust is replaced by suspicion and paranoia. The outcome of drug addiction is always negative and it can lead to endless problems. Gerald and his stepsister's molestation, in this story, is linked to Monique and Jordan (stepfather)'s drug abuse. This can also happen in real life. Substance addiction overtakes the existence of one person, leaving children neglected and taken advantage of.

Tragically, abuse and addiction are problems in society that continue, just as it was in the book "

Forged by Fire."

2nd Blog Post

In the book "Forged By Fire" by Sharon M. Draper the main character, Gerald, faces family issues, especially with his stepdad, Jordan throughout the entire book. Over the course of the book, Gerald grows closer to his stepsister Angel, and they became very close friends through their similar family problems that they face on a daily basis.


In the beginning of the book, Gerald already faces family struggles as a young child with his mom being substance-addicted and his dad gone. Gerald's problems are resolved briefly when finally a fire causes Gerald to move in with his aunt. Gerald faces poverty struggles still, but is in safer conditions. Gerald learns to toughen himself up and be a strong individual throughout the early parts of the book.


Gerald's has to deal with more problems when his aunt dies and he has to move back in with his mother, but this time also with his stepdad and stepsister. He doesn't like his stepdad and struggles with constant abuse from him. He finally calls the cops when he is too abusive and his stepdad has to serve jail time. He and his sister bond through their struggles and similar issues and Gerald becomes the only person Angel, his stepsister trusts and looks up to.


Throughout the book, Gerald toughens up and bonds with his sister, even through poverty, family issues, and bad parents.

Other peoples blogs

Wison's blog was very descriptive and focused on the themes in issues in his book.
Eric's blog describes the problems and issues in the book and tells the reader a short summary about what happens in the book.
Devon's blog used a lot of quotes to describe the details about how the characters feel about certain things.
Simona's blog was very descriptive and she also made text to world connections.

SEARCH FOR SAFETY SUMMARY

In the book "Search for Safety" by John Langan, the main character, Ben faces family, abuse, and financial issues when his stepdad moves in.

Throughout the book, Ben and his mom get abused more and more. Ben's grades begin to slip and money becomes a problem for his family. Ben's life is being torn apart by his stepdad and he has no control over it. After a ton of abuse, Ben calls the cops and everything goes back to normal. Sometimes family issues can destroy someone's life and leave a mark forever.

In "Search for Safety" Ben discovers the hardships of abuse and money issues; but most of all family, all starting with his stepdad moving in.